Tossing Salt Presents:
Ultimate Wrestling Q&A
Damian Priest, Randy Orton, Blackjack Mulligan & More
July 8, 2023
DougMaynard.com

It’s the Ultimate Wrestling Q&A. I’m too stressed out today to think of a clever intro so let’s just get right to it, shall we? Let’s go.

EC3 recently stated in an interview that because of losing to Bad Bunny at the Backlash PPV in Puerto Rico, Damian Priest is “damaged goods”. Thoughts?

Since losing to Bad Bunny in Puerto Rico, Damian Priest has wrestled for the World Championship on television, gotten a tremendous push, and is now Senor Money In The Bank. While I enjoy EC3 as a wrestler and think he’s a pretty smart guy most of the time, in this instance, the facts don’t bear him out. He’s wrong.

When Randy Orton returns, would you rather see him come back as a heel or a babyface?

When he returns, he’s going to be cheered like crazy, regardless of what he decides to do. So I’d love to see him reunite with Riddle and then, like the Viper he pretends to be, turn on Riddle, hit him with an RKO out of nowhere, and do the heel turn. Randy is a much better heel than Babyface anyhow and he should play to his strengths.

I saw an article about how Christian Cage could replace Finn Balor as the leader of The Judgement Day (Cage’s contract with AEW expires in March 2024). If Finn is replaced in the faction, who should be his replacement? Christian or someone else?

While Cage might be good for down the line, and I have no doubt he would be awesome in the role of the leader of a faction, maybe even the Judgement Day, that scenario would be a while to come. For a more immediate option should Finn be deposed by his group, how about Baron Corbin? He’s proved time and time again that he can make any gimmick work and I think he’d do an excellent job in a role such as that.

Ronnie Garvin versus Don Muraco. Who wins?

This would be a great match of two old-school legends who I don’t think have ever worked with each other before. Neither man is flashy, but both are solid and would be a hard-hitting, stiff encounter. My money would be on Muraco to take the victory.

Thoughts on Blackjack Mulligan?

A legit tough man who was way ahead of his time with the promos and ability to tell a story, both inside and outside of the ring. Blackjack was one of my favorites growing up, and never failed to deliver. And he’s left a legacy of great matches, great promos, great stories, and a family of great wrestlers including sons Barry & Kendall Windham, son-in-law Mike Rotundo, and grandsons Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas. When the term GOATS from the 70s is mentioned, Blackjack Mulligan has to be in the discussion. ‘Nuff said!

Vince Russo recently called Tony Khan a “mark” and implied that he wants to “teach” Khan how to book professional wrestling correctly. Thoughts?

To be honest, I wouldn’t mind seeing Russo and Khan working together. Vince is right that Tony is a mark for the business and has no business to be booking a wrestling company on national television. Tony likes to make matches, but there is no story behind them and no reason for the matches to happen. Russo likes crash TV, where there are stories, promos, interviews, and the matches themselves are secondary and perceived as a necessary evil. But Russo knows how to book and write TV. Tony doesn’t. The two men are complete opposites in their styles, but together, they could balance each other out and we could actually get a good product as a result. Vince would give Tony the reasons to have the matches happen, while Tony would be there to edit Vince and take out the more crazy stuff to keep it from getting out of control. It would be interesting to see and could actually turn out pretty well. I’d like to see it.

He doesn’t feel appreciated by the core AEW audience. What is your take on Brian Cage?

I like Cage, but he’s a victim of the sudden push, then vanish for six months, and then repeats the booking style of AEW and Tony Khan. He’s a good wrestler and has a good promo game, but he just hasn’t had the chances or opportunities to show and prove it. He’s capable of much more than he’s been used for so far.

Should AEW have a Hardcore belt?

No. Between AEW and ROH, there are far too many belts in the company already. AEW also acknowledges titles from New Japan and Triple AAA. The last thing that the company needs is more title belts or championships. Just no.

If both were in their prime, who would win? Bruno Sammartino vs Harley Race. And then the winner against Andre the Giant? Who wins that one?

As much respect as I have for the Living Legend, I think Harley would win the majority of matches against Bruno. Bruno was strong, but Harley was the better technician and wrestler. As for Andre, he and Harley fought many times, but Andre never won the title. Harley didn’t beat Andre, but there was always a DQ finish or a count-out, or something of that nature. I think Andre would win, but it would be because Harley was DQed. Either that or both men would be counted out of the ring.

If Mil Mascaras and Rey Mysterio were in their prime and facing each other, who’d win?

This is easy. Mil would win because he’s bigger, stronger, and his ego would never allow him to lose. Remember, we’re talking about a guy who eliminated himself from the Royal Rumble so he wouldn’t have to put anyone over by allowing them to eliminate him. An actual loss to Rey? He’d never go for that.

Baron Von Rashke, Ox Baker, and Dick The Bruiser versus Greg Gagne, Jim Brunzell, and Terry Gordy. Who wins?

Two very odd combinations of talent to be sure. It’s a tough call here because there are a lot of egos involved, but I think that Greg, Jim, and Gordy would end up taking the win in this one.

And there you go. My thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. Take care and be well, my friends. Watch out for foreign objects and I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!